


To Have and To Hold...

by SeleneMoon



Category: Knight & Rogue - Hilari Bell
Genre: At least not with each other, But she's willing to share., Conflicted Kathy, F/M, Good thing neither Sevenson is that possessive, Kathy doesn't really like it, M/M, Post-Lady's Pursuit, This one's for TheoMiller
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-28
Updated: 2016-06-29
Packaged: 2018-07-10 17:14:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6997426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeleneMoon/pseuds/SeleneMoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kathy has mixed feelings about how to handle her brother on this one...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. To Love...

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheoMiller](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheoMiller/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this one's for [TheoMiller](http://archiveofourown.org/users/TheoMiller/pseuds/TheoMiller) because TheoMiller has written a lot of Knight & Rogue fanfic, and I wanted to show my appreciation... At 2 am... So this is kinda a whim and I will probably reread this and post it tomorrow when I'm not about to pass out.
> 
> Huh, just realizing how impulsive this is, but I finally read Lady's Pursuit, which I've been putting off because I didn't want it to end, and I binged some of the fanfic I haven't read in a while. 
> 
> PS I really don't write a whole lot of shippy stuff, but the thing that I kinda wanted to write requires a lot more thought than I have right now, and I had the desire to show appreciation _now_. I can be an impatient person (who apparently has a pension for run on sentences when I'm tired).
> 
> PPS I don't know why Fisk is unconscious. Blame their latest quest and Fisk's inability to let Michael walk into danger without him.

Kathy fell to her knees beside us. Fisk was in my arms, unconscious but alive. Kathy reached for him. My hands tightened around his shoulders, unwilling to let him go. Kathy faltered. I was vaguely aware of her eyes on my face, but my attention remained on Fisk.

"Damn..." Kathy finally drew my surprised gaze when she swore. My sister rarely cursed. She stared at me through lenses speckled with raindrops. Her hair sticking to her neck from the rain. I had pulled Fisk under the cover of the trees, so we weren't half as badly off, though a bit more muddy. "Damn..." She muttered again. "I had really hoped I was wrong." My brows furrowed in confusion. But I was distracted by Fisk shivering.

I fumbled to unlatch my cloak. Kathy moved behind me before I could remove the heavy clothing and took it herself. She spread it over her husband lovingly before she returned to her place beside me. I looked down at my former squire's face. I often forgot how young he was... His face looked even younger now. Innocent... In need of protection...

"I had a crush on Fisk from the moment you first brought him home." Kathy confessed. I blinked.

"You barely spoke to him." I stared at her perplexed. She shrugged.

"Yes, 'twas a silly little girl crush at first. 'Twas not like I met many new young men. I was fourteen and stuck where I was. Too young to be considered for marriage but old enough to have an idea of what I wanted." She smiled bitterly. "Too isolated to find someone to _have_ a crush on." She reached for Fisk and stroked his hair. "Until my wayward brother started dragging around a rogue he'd redeemed the way he did that abused puppy he found when he was six." I almost smiled at that. It had taken months to get that dog to trust me. "Then, when I heard about how he supported you I wanted to stay in touch with him."

"So you weren't just writing to him to check up on me then?" I asked amused. Fisk shifted and I turned my attention back to him. I adjusted him so that he lay more comfortably, more securely in my arms.

"The letters just helped me fall for him more." She admitted. "Fisk is a remarkable man."

"That he is." I agreed.

"So when did you realize that you were in love with him?" Kathy asked. I froze. We sat there like that a moment, the sound of the rain doing nothing to sooth me. I almost started when I felt Kathy's hand on my head, only catching myself when I realized that such an action would disturb Fisk. Kathy merely tucked my hair behind my ear. "I told you mine." She reminded me gently. I swallowed. It wasn't so much the question as it was that she had actually noticed my feelings towards Fisk.

"I'm not sure that there was a time I didn't love him." I confessed. And it was true. I had been drawn to the rogue even before his name had been called at the end of that trial. The fifty-two gold roundels I had used to redeem him was the best money I'd ever spent. "I thought that my feelings for Rosa were stronger, but I was wrong." I closed my eyes. "'Tis better left alone Kathy. I am truly glad that you and Fisk are together." Even if it meant that Kathy would always come before me in Fisk's heart. The fact that I had any of the man's love was enough to keep me going.

Kathy was silent. I refused to break that silence. I tried to focus on the good things. The sounds of the rain. Of Fisk's breath. Of the warmth of his body in my arms. "I remind him of you." My eyes snapped open and I stared at Kathy. She smiled at me weakly. "I do." She said simply. "And this 'tis not fair." I tried to swallow, but I could not. I tried to tell her the world 'twas not fair (something learned by hard experience and Fisk's constant reminders) but I could not. Something in her expression hardened slightly with determination. She looked at her husband and took my hand. "This isn't permission." She warned. "But he won't mind." She placed my hand on Fisk's hair. I stared at her in utter bewilderment. Kathy raised an eyebrow.

Slowly, hesitantly, I began to stroke his hair. It was softer than it had looked while we were traveling while I was an unredeemed knight errant. Fisk seemed to enjoy my ministrations because his head tilted just a fraction into my hand. "There's no reason we can't both be happy." Kathy said softly. "Not that this would be possible with anyone else." I could hear the smile in her voice. "We always could share with each other better than we could share with our other brothers." I looked up at her, overwhelmed and confused, but grateful. We sat like that a while longer.

Fisk let out a deep sigh in his sleep and turned his head a bit more towards me. I ran my thumb down his cheek. The face, usually set in cynical lines, was relaxed. It reminded me of all of the times that I'd watched over him while we were camping, whether for animals, enemies on our trail, or simply to indulge in the satisfaction of seeing him alive.

Small fingers caught my wrist. "I don't think he'd be terribly comfortable with that yet." Kathy said with just a note of irritation. It was at that point I realized I'd been stroking Fisk's face. I flushed. I lowered my hand to adjust Fisk so he was in a more comfortable position again.

'Twas a long while before I had the courage to speak again. "Are you sure you're okay with this?" I asked. I wanted her to be. I _wanted_ to share Fisk with her. But I was terrified of losing them both, which was a very real possibility in this case. Kathy removed her glasses and tried to wipe them off, but only succeeded in spreading the water around more.

"Michael, we ran away from home at different times, but with the same man." Kathy perched her glasses on her nose again. "I think I always recognized this as a possibility."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Michael still has to win Fisk's romantic affection of course, hard given his loyalty, but what's harder is doing it without stepping on Kathy's toes, she's a vaguely inconsistant ally because she does get a tiny bit possivessive sometimes. 
> 
> And I have zero idea how I did... Seriously, I'm not sure how I am at writing ships. So comments are appreciated. Keeping in mind that it is now three in the morning...
> 
> Yeah, I may do the other thing soon-ish, it's related to my issues with the Lady's Pursuit, which in my opinion really just came down to one thing. I felt like Ms. Bell wasn't confident on how to portray Michael and Fisk when Fisk was in love. I'm hoping that the fanfic I have an idea for will rectify that. ^_^ Let me know if you'd like to see that. Or maybe she did and I just disagreed with it. (I don't think that you pull away from your friends just because you are in love.)


	2. Concussion Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fisk wakes up a little bit out of it.

I woke up slowly.

The first thing I was aware of was Michael holding me. I could tell it was him. No one else touched me quite so gently, not even Kathy. Not to say that my wife wasn't gentle, but she was also down to earth in way that Michael was not and it made her gentleness more grounded. I loved that about her. When Michael was worried about me, his touch was a kind of soothing presence. Even when it was checking for injuries it seemed to convey the thought _I'm here, we're going to be alright_ even when we clearly weren't. I loved that about him too.

All of these thoughts flitted through my mind as I hovered between the conscious and the unconscious. I can only attribute the soft sappy musings to the concussion I was surely suffering from. And the fact that one isn't really themself when they are just waking up.

If Judith heard me she'd surely quote one of Father's sayings about how when you first regain consciousness you didn't have your inhibitions up and could learn a lot about yourself. But she couldn't hear me. I'm in my head. Shut up, dream Judith. God, she's even irritating in my head!

"Would you please just trust your sister?" Wait, that wasn't in my head, and that voice _definitely_ wasn't Judith's snide tone. It was... angelic.

My wife.

I think I smiled a bit as I relaxed into Michael's hold. Secure in the knowledge that I was with perhaps the only two people I would ever trust with my life. Secure in the knowledge that where ever we were, we were together.

I stayed like that a while. More asleep than awake. Until Michael moved. "Tis all very well for us to consider, but the question remains. Will he accept it?" Michael had tensed, rousing me more fully than a rooster's call. His arms tightened around me. "Will he accept me?"

"Will who accept you?" I asked groggily. I probably should have tried to sit up, but I was actually pretty content where I was.

"Fisk!" The siblings cried in unison. Suddenly Kathy's hands were on my face and her kiss was on my lips. I blinked up at her. God, she was beautiful. Drenched with rainwater that reflected the light off of her skin in a way that made her look unearthly. I smiled up at her.

"Did I do something right?" I felt Michael shift. I moved my eyes over to him and forced them to focus on his face. An uncomfortable expression was on it. He was most determinedly avoiding looking at me and Kathy. "Hey," I poked his ribs. "Stop not looking at me." That made sense, right? Not looking. Yeah. That made sense. I frowned. I wasn't usually this muddle headed...

Michael had obeyed my command a little too well. He was examining my eyes closely. Then he put his hand to the back of my skull. Despite his gentleness, I hissed in pain, pulling away from his usually comforting touch. "It's a concussion." He stated with certainty. Kathy made to stand.

"I'll find some herbs to-" I made a sound like protest and reached for her. She stopped and knelt beside me again.

"I'll go." Michael said, sounding resigned. He transferred me to Kathy, supporting my head and torso until she had me in her arms. But when he tried to leave he discovered I had a firm grip on the front of his shirt. He tried to remove it. I wouldn't release my hold on the shirt. "Fisk," he said gently, with the type of voice I usually associated with his Gift for handling animals. "Let go."

I would have shaken my head, but Kathy was holding it, and I didn't want to dislodge her. So instead I just glared at him and pulled him back down where he'd been sitting. Michael tossed a perplexed glance at his sister.

I don't really know why I was stopping him. I just knew that I was cold and muddy, my head hurt, and I didn't want either Sevenson running off until I was in a state that I could look for them.

"I think that we should skip the treatment and just get him straight to a healer." Kathy told him in a low voice.

"I'm worried that they will find us if we go into town." Michael muttered, staring at me in obvious concern. I glowered at them. So I wasn't behaving very logically. Why did I have to always be the logical one anyway? Michael seemed to come to a decision. Before I could do anything to stop him, he slipped off his shirt and stood up.

"I'll find some magica herbs." He said confidently. "Then we can take the horses to the healer a few towns over." I was busy gaping over the shirt, trying to figure out what had happened... So maybe I was a little bit concussed after all. "Talk to him until I get back. Don't let him sleep." Kathy might have nodded. I didn't see. I was busy trying to focus on Michael, who was suddenly leaning over me earnestly. "I'll be right back." I tried to grab him but I missed. Damn concussion. He pulled away and vanished into the trees. I looked down at the shirt in my hands.

"That was devious." I muttered. I looked up at Kathy. "When did Michael get devious?"

"After years of exposure to you, I'm surprised he's not worse." My 'loving' wife laughed. I smiled weakly. It still didn't feel right without Michael there. Kathy chatted for a while, talking about this and that. Pulling my (muddled) thoughts about a particular ballad or novel out of me. She even managed to wrangle a few truths about my past out of me, since I couldn't think of a believable lie. She must have realized the trouble I was having. My lies were either obvious or illogical, so I was stuck with the truth.

"Fisk," She said slowly. "Who do you love more? Me or Michael?" I blinked at her.

"I think I missed something." I said.

"Who do you love more? Me or Michael?" She repeated.

"That's what I thought you said." I frowned at her. I thought she knew this. "I can't answer that. Since I love you both so much." Kathy smiled.

"I think this is the first time you've admit you love Michael out loud." She told me.

"I'm concussed." I reminded her blithely. "Nothing I say can be used against me."

"But you do love Michael." She grinned. She tapped my nose. "You can't deny it."

"Course I do." I said drowsily.

"More than me?" She persisted. My brows furrowed.

"Why do you keep asking me that?" I demanded. "I can't compare them. Not anymore than you could your love for me and Michael or Michael and Benton. Or," I yawned. "Rupert and Meg. It doesn't work like that." I could feel myself falling asleep again. "I love you both far too much to even measure. And I can't compare them if I can't measure them." Kathy's blush was the last thing I saw and Michael bursting out of the trees with the magica herbs was the last thing I heard before the darkness reclaimed me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments made me want to write another chapter... Comments are a reader's superpower.


	3. Assurance of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fisk is ill. Michael and Kathy are in love with him.

We pushed the horses harder than we should have getting Fisk to a healer. By the time we'd reached the first town he'd developed a fever. Kathy didn't have to try too hard to convince me to forsake caution and stay there instead of continuing to the next town. My concern for Fisk 'twas just as strong as her's was. 'Twas not the safest option as we were uncertain if the local baron was in league with the bandits who had done this, but 'twas worth the risk. Fisk would certainly have argued that point if he had been in any condition to do so. Kathy stayed to speak to the healer, and though I wanted nothing more than to remain with them, I had to take care of the horses and take steps against any retaliation that might be directed at Kathy and the still vulerable Fisk. I went to the baron to enlist his aid, despite my misgivings. 

The man 'twas either honest or wished to hide his involvement from me (which meant he probably wasn't trying to kill me or my companions). He ordered a fresh horse for me and several members of his guard to assist me in their apprehension. However, while I was speaking to the stable-hand about treatment for Chant's leg a message arrived summoning me to the healer. I left so quickly that I scarcely heard the guard captain's assurance that they could handle the bandits. 

I could not be certain that the wind that howled at my back, propelling me forward, 'twas magica fueled by my terror or not, but it pushed me faster. I reached the building so quickly the healer blinked and asked me if I had already been on my way here. I was too busy frantically asking after Fisk between jagged breaths to answer her. "He's fine." She snapped in exasperation. "Or at least he's not in any immediate danger." I almost collapsed in relief. Then, after I had collected myself, I looked questioningly at her.

"Not to be ungrateful," I said, respectfully, "But why did you call me here if he's not in danger?" 

"I'm sorry, did you have something more important to do?" The healer's question was laden with sarcasm. I felt a surge of emotions. Fear: for one of the people I loved the most, an almost overwhelming desire to see the man, and, oddly, anger: fury for this healer who questioned my love for Fisk. 

I drew myself up. "There is nothing more important than Fisk." 'Twas the truest thing I had ever said. The healer looked at me. I don't know what she saw in my face, but whatever it was caused her to bow her head in respect. 

"I am glad you think so." She said, all trace of sarcasm gone from her voice. "I called because your friend is ill at ease. He settled a bit when his wife sat with him, but he's started tossing and turning again." I frowned, still perplexed. The healer's lips curved into a wry smile. "He keeps saying  _your_ name. Though some of his nicknames sound more insulting than endearing 'Noble Sir'." Fisk had been asking for me? I followed the healer through the doors. 

My heart tightened when I saw Fisk moving fitfully in the bed. His brown curls plastered to his forehead with sweat. Kathy sat in the chair opposite the door, cooling his fevered face with a wet cloth. 

"Michael, you idiot..." He muttered. I have no memory of pushing past the healer into the room. I was simply there, Fisk's clammy hand in one of mine while the other rested on the top of his head. His shaky breathing seemed to even out. He stopped tossing and turning. The tension drained from his face. 

I'm not sure how long we sat there. The healer was gone by the time Kathy spoke. "She said that he lashed out at her a few times before she let me in." I glanced at her. She wasn't looking at me. "He 'twas calling out for both of us." Of course he was, he loved her. Why was she telling me this. My brow furrowed as I tried to analyze her words. 

Fisk had only been mumbling my name when I arrived, but that 'twas probably because he was somewhat aware of her presence. Why was she saying it aloud? My thoughts circled in confusion. Most of our conversation since Kathy's strange suggestion, a suggestion that offered so much hope and so much fear, had been about Fisk's condition. We'd been more interested in keeping him alive than anything else. But now I recalled what I'd overheard when Fisk had been lucid. I arrived in the middle, when Kathy had been pressing him to answer her question, which of us did he love more. 

It had warmed my heart to actually  _hear_ Fisk say that he loved me aloud. The memory distracted me for a happy moment. But then, Kathy's question and her words now came back to me. I took in her posture, and felt a heavy seed of dread in my stomach as I realized what was troubling her. 

"You're- you're worried he'll love me more?" I stared at her in disbelief. Kathy refused to look at me.

"'Tis a reasonable fear." She admit. "You have so much history. I often wonder if he only fell in love with me because he 'twas too afraid of losing you to even try." I saw her hand tighten on his sheets and a glimmer of tears in her eyes. "I... I often have to consider the possibility that I am a substitute."

"You're wrong." I argued with absolute certainty. Kathy glanced up at me with watery eyes. "When I first learned about the two of you, 'twas a surprise, but it seemed so very clear in hindsight." I began to list the ways without pausing for breath. "He once insisted that we remained in a town where I was nearly hanged because he hadn't gotten your letter yet. Another time he wouldn't talk to me for a week because I spilled ink all over his letter to you. And if I had a copper roundel for every time he told me how much better off we'd be if I had half your good sense I'd be as wealthy as Father!" I finally had to slow to breathe. Kathy was staring at me wide-eyed. "Not to mention the fact that he actually kept most of the letters. He never even complained about their weight. And he looked at me like I was crazier than usual if I suggested he leave them behind since they were so balky." I swallowed. Kathy had turned her gaze away from me to look at Fisk softly. "Kathy, when you met in Slowbend, he was half in love with you already." Kathy leaned forward and kissed him on his warm forehead. The familiar feeling of happiness tinged with jealousy  blossomed in my chest. 

"Thank you." She murmered. Then she looked up and her smile fell slightly. "Get that wistful grin off your face." She scolded me, sitting back up, her hand still on her husband's face. "He'll be your's as much as mine soon enough." I didn't express my doubt but it must have shown on my face. She sighed noisely. "I know you heard the two of us talking in the woods." She said. "You might not have heard everything, but I know you heard what he said." She stroked his jawline absently. "Think of everything you just said to me." She smiled, still lost in my words. "Think of how much he loves me, and remember," She stared at me intensely, her glasses flashing brightly. "He said he loves you just as much." 

 

 

 

If Kathy had any other doubts about Fisk, they were surely banished when she left to wash her face. As soon as she removed her hand Fisk began shifting. She 'twas gone less than two minutes before Fisk started mumbling her name. Later when I left, he did the same. We sat with him through the worst of his fever. 

One of his fever dreams gave me quite a scare. He 'twas talking in his sleep. Begging Kathy to stop me. I had been stroking his hair at the time and snatched my hand back, staring at Fisk in something close to terror. "Don't let Michael make Trouble magica, Kathy." Fisk mumbled. Startling us both into a laugh. "Don't... Trouble doesn't deserve it." 

When Fisk finally woke up, lucid, he had plenty of soft words for Kathy and just as many teasing quips for me. It was hard not to silence him with a kiss every time Kathy tossed me a meaningful look. No, it would have been harder to muster the courage to go through with it, but I did think about kissing him, which was more than I had ever allowed myself before. 

Things really began to happen when it was time for us to set out. When Fisk climbed on Tipple to take his seat he was swaying as badly as the horse did when she'd gotten into a keg. Kathy took one look at him and put her foot down. "No." She stated resolutely. "You're not riding like this." She helped him down very forcefully. 

"Then what do you suggest I do, Kathy?" Fisk asked amused. "Walk?"

"Nonsense." She scoffed. "You'll ride with Michael. Chant can handle you both." Fisk blinked at her, and I turned away to hide my blush. Fisk tried to argue, but quickly realized that it was a lost cause. 

"She's as stubborn as you are." He muttered as he mounted in front of me. He frowned as he settled into his seat. "Are you alright? You didn't get a fever too, did you?" He tried to turn, and almost succeeded in falling off the horse. I caught him. He scowled at me, then looked away. "Kathy, did this idiot get sick and not tell the healer?" 

"He's fine, Fisk." She assured him with a smirk at me. I only reddened more. 

So we left. Fisk sitting in front of me, leaning against me from time to time because he was still tired. My arms around him to hold Chant's reins. 

...'Twas going to be a long, and possibly wonderful, trip...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kathy and Michael needed a chapter to work things out. Neither of them is totally confident with the other as a competitor. So... Kathy decided they needed to be colaborators! I think it kinda worked, right?
> 
> In case anyone was wondering, Kathy _would not_ have been okay if Fisk said he loved Michael more. The correct answer was either that he loved her more or he loved them equally. Otherwise she wouldn't be able to share him because she would never be able to catch up to Michael.


	4. We love you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have named Michael's new squire! His name is actually planned for my head cannon sequel that I may or may not write.

The Sevenson siblings were acting strange.

Okay, so that phrase could be applied to almost every situation and be true, but they were acting weirder than usual, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. Kathy was acting more tactile, she would drop a kiss on my temple or my lips at the smallest thing. She sat closer to me next to the fire and in taverns. Her hand was often on my shoulder or waist. She was also pushing Michael on me. Every time Michael had to do something, Kathy volunteered me to help him. Michael was less talkative, and I still thought that he might have a fever because his face looked red at the weirdest times.

I glanced up at Michael from my seat on Tipple. He'd bathed at the last inn and was wearing one of his better shirts. His hair was brushed and tied back. If I didn't know better, I'd think that he was trying to impress someone. Michael caught me looking and his face went red again. I scowled at him. He wasn't showing any other symptom of illness, but this fever was really persistent.

I turned to Kathy, hoping to restart our conversation about bringing Michael to a healer, though she'd been oddly resistant to my concerns the past few days, just another example of how strange she was acting since I could usually depend on her with matters of Michael's health. Before I could say anything I realized that she was smirking at me. I blinked at her and tried not to scowl.

"What?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing." She snickered. I had to actively stop myself from pulling my hair out. I slumped forward against Tipple's neck. She was the only one making sense anyway. She quite sensibly did not appreciate this and shook her head to get me off.

"Are you alright?" Michael sounded more concerned than the situation warranted. I grunted noncommittally and forced myself upright in the saddle in time to catch Michael toss a worried glance at Kathy who offered him an amused one back.

"By the two moons, I'm _fine_ , Michael!" I articulated, rolling my eyes. "You are the one I'm worried about." Michael reddened again and Kathy outright laughed. "What is wrong with you two?!" I demanded, finally snapping. Kathy angled her mare closer to Tipple and reached out with a delicate hand to stroke my arm.

"'Tis nothing, love. At least... nothing yet." And on that cryptic note, she urged her horse ahead of mine. I groaned in frustration and shot a glance at the unusually silent Michael.

"I swear, Michael. She's just as crazy as you are, she's just better at hiding it." I told him. Michael looked uncharacteristically uncertain.

"'Tis a bad thing?" He asked.

"Of course not." I scoffed. "Life would be pretty dull without either of you, and you wouldn't be you if you weren't a lunatic." I wasn't prepared for Michael's face to go scarlet or for the blindingly brilliant smile that accompanied it. "Are you _sure_ you don't need a healer?" I asked, thinking that the fever had reached some kind of delirium stage.

 

 

 

The oddity continued in the next town we reached. We had left the horses at the inn so that we could go to the marketplace. Kathy and I decided to get a few new inks for the printer. This area was known for producing brilliant purple dyes, if we could get some ink in the same shade, it would really help business.

We were in luck. There had just been an influx of material needed for the color. Prices were low, and with my haggling, they were soon lower. When Kathy suggested a regular delivery to our shop in Slowbend I managed to negotiate an even more reasonable price. We set off to find Michael. I spotted him first. He was predictably next to the horses, inspecting some kind of tool that was probably for something related to hooves or manes... or... something. Kathy pulled the bundle I held away from me as we approached him. I shot her a questioning look. She smiled at me sweetly, distracting me enough that I tripped over my own feet and fell head first. I expected to hit my head, for the second time in a week, but instead I crashed into Michael's chest. His arms came up around me and gripped me tightly, though as gentle as ever.

I stood and he let me go, almost reluctantly. "Thanks." I brushed myself off, and glanced up at him. But he wasn't looking at me. He was busy giving my wife what I could only describe as a brotherly expression of disappointment. When I looked back I saw that Kathy was smirking smugly at him. That's when I realized it. She tripped me!

"Are you alright?" Michael's attention returned to me. I found myself the focus of his intense scrutiny. Concerned hands probed my head, feeling for my wound. "I think there's a healer around the corner if you think-"

"I'm fine." I growled. I was getting a little sick of the constant mothering. I mentally added it to the growing list of strangeness that the siblings were exhibiting.

 

 

 

The next inn, two nights later, was where I started to feel like I was missing something obvious.

"I'm sorry." The clerk apologized to us. "But the only room we have is a single master."

"That will be fine." Kathy nodded. The clerk blinked and stared at us uncertainly.

"There is- only one bed." He reiterated.

"It's fine." Kathy rolled her eyes. "Michael's my brother. We used to sleep together all the time, and it's better than one of us taking the floor." The clerk seemed placated by this response. I didn't mind much. Michael and I had shared a bed more than once during our travels. But it still plagued me as I lie in bed. Why had Kathy accepted this so easily? And why was _I_ the one lying in the middle? Michael's mumbled explanation that I always got cold and Kathy's agreement did not ring true. It kept me awake for awhile. But when I did fall asleep it was quite possibly the most restful relaxing night I had ever spent.

It still didn't explain why Kathy started getting us rooms with only one bed from then on. She said that it was to save money, and while it was true the single bed was cheaper and we probably needed to save all the money that we could with Evan (Michael's new squire) running the shop, it didn't sound right. She didn't think enough about money for that.

I was missing something. I racked my brain trying to figure it out. In the end, I never worked it out... It was revealed to me.

 

 

 

I woke up that day to find Michael with an arm wrapped around my torso, and Kathy on my other side, curled up against me with one hand clutching my shirt just below her brother's arm. This wouldn't have been as strange if we had been in an inn. But we were camping... and both of them must have moved their bedrolls to sleep beside me. I tried to get up. But the arms held me in place. Kathy burrowed closer to me, and Michael pulled me closer to him.

I was stuck.

"Michael." I muttered, trying to pull away. "Get off." Michael's arms tightened as he felt me pulling away. Not totally surprising. Michael could be pretty tactile. I sighed and relaxed slightly. At least it was warm. "Michael," I said wearily again. "What is wrong with you?"

"I'm in love with you." Michael mumbled. I tensed. Michael sounded mostly asleep. He'd... fallen in love with someone? I scowled. Whoever she was, she had better be good enough for him. Michael was likely to have fallen for some woman who would just take advantage of him. I silently vowed to find out who this woman was and determine if she was a threat to him. I nudged him, hoping to keep him in this barely awake state.

"Who is it?" I asked. I heard a slight sound of protest from my other side. Kathy had woken up and was staring at me wide eyed. I smiled at her, before I returned my attention to her brother. "Who did you fall for, Michael?" I urged. Kathy was shaking her head urgently and pulling my shirt. I shot her a quick frown. Wasn't she worried about her brother being taken advantage of? Surely she wanted to know who this harlot was as much as me. Michael's arm tightened around me as he turned his face into my neck.

"With you, Fisk." I stiffened. Kathy groaned and covered her face with her hands.

"This was _not_ how you were supposed to find out." She groaned as I turned my attention to her. "I was trying so hard to build up to this moment. To start small until you were more amenable."

Usually I think I'm pretty fast at picking things up, but this time I was absolutely flummoxed. "You're okay with this?" I gaped at her. I can genuinely say that the Sevenson siblings never stopped surprising me.

The look on Kathy's face was almost heart breaking. "I have to be okay with it." She brushed my hair out of my eyes. "I only have to imagine how I would feel if I couldn't have you." Her face twisted. "I can't let him go through that..." She looked at her brother, a sad smile on her face. "It's too cruel."

"But..." I tried to sit up. Michael was jostled enough to wake up more fully. He yawned, and rubbed at his eyes. Then he seemed to realize something. He froze.

"Please tell me that was a dream." He said, the dread in his voice making it clear that he knew it wasn't.

I wasn't sure what to say. Kathy was. "It doesn't change anything." She said with certainty. "It just means that things will happen a little sooner." What was she talking about? I glanced at her. She was looking at us intensely. I realized that Michael still had one arm around me and I hadn't made any attempt to remove it.

I swallowed. Michael's arm fell down until he was holding my hand. "You... didn't mean that, did you?" I asked him. He hesitated. I was giving him a way out. But in that moment Michael Sevenson proved himself to be the bravest man I know because he took a shuddering breath and nodded.

"I did." His hand tightened around mine. "Every word and more." He brought his other hand on top of the first so that they were encircling mine entirely. I stared at him. I did love him. I hadn't ever really considered it to be anything romantic, but it wasn't hard to imagine my feelings shifting that way. But... I was married. And I loved Kathy just as much as her brother. I couldn't hurt her. I looked at my wife. She saw the conflict in my eyes and took my other hand in both of hers.

"We love you, Fisk." She said. "And we care enough about each other to make this work." I opened my mouth and closed it. Michael's thumb started moving in gentle distracting circles on top of my hand. I glanced up at him. He lifted my hand and kissed the top of my fingers. My breath caught.

"We love you, Fisk." He echoed Kathy's words. "We can make this work... If you're willing..." I could see every emotion on his open sincere face: the hope, the dread, the fear, and the love. I swallowed and looked between the two of them.

"How, by the two moons, did I get the two best people in the realm to fall in love with me?" I asked. I was actually bewildered. Kathy and Michael knew exactly who I was. Why would they fall for me? The siblings exchanged a glance and actually laughed.

"Just by being you." Michael assured me. I swallowed again. Michael glanced at Kathy, she nodded as if giving permission. Michael leaned forward.

He was going to kiss me. I could have pulled away... I didn't.

Every time Kathy and I kissed it started quickly and was passionate. Michael was different. I was acutely aware of every move he made. Time almost slowed as he leaned in and kissed me. It was gentle. More gentle than anything else I had ever felt before. It was different than kissing my wife. But in a strange way, it was just as wonderful. I could tell he only meant it to be a brief brush of the lips... but he lingered. All of the love he had for me was trying to be conveyed in the gentle gesture. I'm not sure when I started kissing him back, but we were both engaged. Our lips moving against each other, though it didn't go any farther. After a moment, he reluctantly pulled away and I let him. My head was still spinning.

Before I could regain my bearing, a delicate finger turned my chin away and kissed me soundly on the lips. It grounded me, unlike Michael's kiss which dazed me. Kathy smiled as she sat back, still holding my hand in one of her's. She lifted my hand and kissed the fingers the way Michael had before. They both stared at me. The most honorable, kind, _worthy_ people I knew, waiting for my answer. They had proven that they could handle it. Could I?

"You're... both okay with this?" I verified. Still a little breathless. Their hands tightened on mine and they nodded together. "Alright." I breathed. Then cleared my throat. "I... I love you both too." Michael smiled brilliantly and Kathy grinned at him then me. "After all, I never could say no to the Sevenson lunacy before." Abruptly I was tackled backwards, both Sevensons wrapping themselves around my chest and pinning me to my bedroll. Yeah, this could work. I laughed weakly. Only the Sevenson siblings were crazy enough to try this... And only the Sevenson siblings and I were crazy enough to pull it off.

I loved these lunatics. I was lucky that they were crazy enough to love me too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit fast, but it was my goal. Please let me know what you think!
> 
> Oh, and for the record. Kathy and Michael never do anything together, and anytime it starts to get beyond first base the other one will make themselves scarce.


End file.
